


Stanford Secrets

by Castiel_in_the_impala



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean Went to College, Dean Winchester Goes to Stanford with Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester and Castiel are best friends, Dean Winchester at Stanford, Dean is friends with Sam's friends, How Do I Tag, Party, Post-Stanford, Sam Winchester at Stanford, Stanford Era, Stanford University, i can't tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-09 23:16:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13491879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castiel_in_the_impala/pseuds/Castiel_in_the_impala
Summary: Dean took some night classes at Stanford while Sam took the normal day classes. Dean gets a call one day to join some of his college friends for a party. Sam gets a call too. Dean doesn’t want Sam to know that he kept an eye on him while at college and took his own classes, so he just says he’s going out to see some old buddies for a few days. Sam tells Dean that he is going to stay in the bunker while Dean is out, when in reality, he’s going to his college friend’s party. Little did they know, they were going to the same party... You get where this is going?My summary sucks oops I'm sorry





	Stanford Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on 2 hours of sleep and several cups of highly sugared coffee so enjoy... I think :P
> 
> (anyone got a better idea for the title??)

 

ACDC blares from Dean’s phone, startling him awake. He grumbles, reaching blindly for it. He and Sam had just got back from a hunt late last night. He had planned to sleep all day today.

Dean glares at the offending device in his hands, willing his narrowed eyes to focus on the name shining brightly in his face. He answers it, not willing to put in the effort to read the name.

“ _What._ ” He growls into the speaker. All he wanted to do today was _sleep, goddammit._

“Jeez,” a man’s voice replies, “What got your panties in a twist, Dean-o?”

It takes him a moment, but Dean cracks a smile. He’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Well if it isn’t Jay Tadgerson.” He laughs.

“How ya doing, Dean?”

Dean stands up, stretching the sleep out of him. “Ah, you know me, always fantastic. How are you? God, it’s been, what, _16 years_ since I’ve talked to you?”

“It’s been great! Life’s a little boring without you running around stirring up trouble, but yeah, I’ve been good. And wow, yeah, last time I saw you was back at Zack’s party.”

“Yeah, yeah. The, uh,” he chuckles into the speaker, “The Great Marriott Fiasco. I still can’t believe we were banned from there.”

“Exactly! I mean, it’s not like the elevators were _irreparable!_ ”

The two fall into laughter at the memory.

“So,” Dean continues, “I assume you didn’t call just to talk about Zack’s Greatest Hit…?”

“ _Oh!_ Yeah, so, we’re having a reunion party of sorts at Dale’s lakehouse. Just a few guys, beer, and barbeque.”

“You had me at beer,” Dean pauses, “Define a few.”

Jay snickers on the other line. “Ya know, a _few_.”

“Max’s few or Finn’s few?”

“Max’s few.”

So then it’s going to be quite a bit more than a few people.

“It’s this Saturday. Can you make it?”

Dean thinks for a moment. They just finished a hunt and are looking to relax for a week or two. Today is Wednesday. He has 3 days to drive to Cali. He can do it in 2. “I’ll be there.”

“Great! Can’t wait to catch up!”

He hesitates. “Can I bring a friend?”

“Only is she’s hot.”

Dean rolls his eyes.

Jay laughs. “I can practically see the bitchface from here.”

“ _His_ name is Cas. He’s my best friend.”

“ _I’ve been replaced?!”_ Jay says in mock shock.

“Oh shuttup, Jay,” Dean laughs.

“Alright. Bring this _best-friend-stealer_ along. I have to see what’s so great about him.”

“Text me the details.”

 

_Elsewhere_

 

Sam steps out of his shower to hear his phone ringing. Toweling his hands off, he picks it up and sees a nearly-forgotten name blinking on the screen. “Uh, hello?” he answers hesitantly.

“It’s been about decade and a half and you still sound as suspicious now as you did back in college.”

Sam snorts. “Dale. I can’t believe it’s you.”

“Yeah well, you know me, I’m late for everything… including calling you.”

“What’s the occasion?” Sam asks, feet leaving small puddles as he walks to his room, towel wrapped around his waist.

“I’m getting the gang back together. Saturday. My lakehouse. Three to whenever. You coming, bookworm?”

Sam chuckles and bites his lip. Dean won’t mind him going out for a few days, right?

“You know what, yeah. I think I will. I just started a… _vacation_ from work. It’ll be nice to see you guys again.”

“ _Great!_ See ya there, Sam!”

 

_Later_

 

Sam walks into the kitchen to find Dean wearing his dead man’s robe, stuffing his face with pizza from the fridge they had gotten before they’re week long hunt. He grimaces internally, wondering how much of the gross old food Dean has actually eaten when he says he’s going to throw it out.

Sam walks to the coffee machine, finding a freshly brewed pot. Dean must’ve just gotten up, which is weird because he swore last night that he was going to sleep all day today.

He pours himself a mug, trying to figure out a lie that Dean will believe instead of just saying _‘Hey remember when I ditched you and dad and went off to college? Yeah, well, I’m ditching you now to go have a party with them. Bye!’_ That would not go very well.

 

As Sam opens his mouth, Dean cuts him off.

“I’m gonna go see some old buddies of mine this weekend. But don’t worry, Samantha, we can braid your hair all of next week.”

Oh. This is great then.

“When are you leaving?”

“Today. They live a little ways away, so,” he shrugs.

“When will you be back?”

“Eh, Tuesday probably.”

“Okay,” Sam smiles inwardly. Plenty of time to see his friends and come back. “I’ll man the bunker, then.”

Dean gets up and grins, clapping Sam on the shoulder on his way out the door.

Sam breathes out a sigh of relief. This was almost too easy.

 

_Even Later_

 

As Dean shoves the last of his clothes into his duffel, he hits speed dial and brings his phone to his ear. It rings once.

“Hello, Dean.”

He smiles. “Heya, Cas.”

“Is everything alright?” the angel asks, concern ever present in his voice.

His smile grows bigger. “Yeah, everything’s great. Where are you, by the way? We got back from the hunt last night and you weren’t here.”

“My truck needed a repair.”

Dean snorts. “Ya know, I coulda fixed it for free. Family discount.”

He can practically _hear_ Cas blushing. “Well, I didn’t know when you and Sam would be back, so I took it in.”

“Where are you now?”

“About to pull into the garage, why?”

“Okay, stay there. I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

 

A minute later, Dean is tossing his duffel into Baby’s trunk and Cas’ pickup pulls up next to him. Dean turns to see Cas behind him. He grins.

“How would you like to go on a road trip?”

 

“Sam!” Dean’s voice echoes through the bunker.

“What?” Sam yells back from somewhere deep inside their home.

“Cas and I are heading out!”

“Cas?”

“Hello, Sam!” Cas yells, “I am accompanying Dean on his trip!”

“Have fun!”

“I’m leaving Cas’ truck keys in the glove box if you need it!”

“K, bye!”

Dean turns to Cas, grinning like a mad man. As they get into the car, Dean speaks. “Did I ever tell you I went to college?”

 

On the way to Cali, Dean tells Cas about his time in college.

He was worried about Sam. Sure, Sam could take care of himself, but what are big brothers for if not to take care of their little brothers? Long story short, Dean took night classes at Stanford, while Sam took the day ones, completely oblivious to his brother’s presence nearby. Dean did end up taking one or two day classes, but only after making sure Sam wasn’t in any of them. While Sam went mostly to law classes, Dean took mostly psychology. It has helped him to better read people. Victims, witnesses, suspects. It helped him become better hunter.

 

“Dean,” he’d say when people asked for his name, “Just Dean.” He didn’t want ‘Winchester’ out because Sammy could have find out he was there. So that’s who he was. ‘Dean Just Dean’, he was known as. Also the guy who could party. Just as he had suspected, Sam didn’t go to parties. He stayed in his dorm and studied. And _come on_ , Dean wasn’t about to pass up a chance for some free booze and partying!

 

Sure, he took hunts on the side during weekends and breaks, but he actually managed to build some semblance of a life. He had friends, a part time job at the local mechanic, _homework_ for christ’s sake.

But then John went missing.

And it all came crashing down.

 

“And that’s basically it,” Dean shrugs.

Castiel stares at him from the passenger seat, looking at Dean with pride and contentment. “I’m happy for you, Dean.”

He blushes. “Yeah, well…”

 

On Friday night, Dean pulls into a motel near Dale’s lakehouse. He gets a double room while Cas unloads the impala.

Dean collapses on the bed closest to the door, letting out a long sigh. Cas lies down on his bed, Dean’s bag beside him.

“Ya know,” Dean starts, rolling over so he is facing Cas. The angel does the same. “You’re gonna need to change the duds. Can’t have you looking like a tax accountant at a college buddy reunion at a lake house. I also snagged you an extra swimsuit.”

Cas somehow manages to cock his head, even while laying down.

Dean nods at his bag. Cas sits up and opens it, carefully taking out the hunter’s belongings one by one.

Dean sits up, crossing his legs indian style. “I packed extra so you’d, ya know, have some options. Though, personally? I think you should wear the black t shirt with the jeans. I’ve got an extra pair of boots in the back seat.”

“What are _you_ going to wear?” Cas asks while he folds Dean’s wrinkled clothes.

The hunter blushes. “The same thing, but a gray t shirt.”

Cas smiles, neatly putting everything away except the outfits for tomorrow. “Okay.”

 

_The next day and elsewhere_

 

Sam is lucky. _Really_ lucky. Dean is out, Cas is out, Cas left his pickup truck. Sam is now driving said truck out of the motel. He’s got another 2 hours to go till he gets to Dale’s place. He’ll get there early, but he couldn’t wait around at the motel any longer. He breathes out nervously. He is going to see his friends. people he hasn’t seen in a long long time. What should he say? What should he do? Does he look okay?

He looks down. Boots, jeans, random plaid shirt. The standard Winchester uniform.

Man, what would Dean say to him now? Probably something along the lines of _‘Quit worrying like a girl, Sammy’_. Yeah, definitely that.

 

_Later_

 

“Jay!” Dean calls to a familiar shape in front of the grill.

The man spins around, surprise on his face. “Dean-o! Wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”

The two embrace and clap each other on the back. “Eh, four hours late isn’t too bad.”

The two part and look each other over.

Jay looks about the same as he did in college. 5’11”, red hair, brown eyes, skinny as heck. He’s wearing cargo shorts and a white t shirt, as are most of the guests.

To Jay, Dean looks different. His eyes are older and he can tell that Dean has seen some shit. He finds it strange that Dean is wearing jeans in the middle of summer, but after glancing at the many scars over the skin that is showing, he can guess that Dean’s a bit self conscious.

It’s only after that that Jay notices the man beside his college friend, fidgeting nervously yet somehow looking vaguely threatening. He looks to be about their age, wild dark hair, piercing blue eyes.

Jay narrows his eyes. “So _you’re_ the best-friend-stealer,” he makes a stabbing motion to his heart, “Hurts right here, man, right here.”

At Cas’ genuinely concerned expression, Dean introduces them. “Cas, this is my buddy Jay Tadgerson. Jay, this is Castiel.”

Jay and Cas shake hands. “You got a last name, or are you like Dean Just Dean, over here?”

Before Cas can answer, Dean cuts in. “Winchester.” Both men turn to him, eyebrows raised. “Cas is family, so he has my last name.”

Cas blushes.

Jay blinks.

“I’ve known you since like 2002 and I only _now_ learn your last name?!”

Dean shrugs.

The two buddies fall into a fit of laughter and move to joins the others.

 

Dean, Cas, Jay, Zack, and a few others are gathered around a campfire, letting the heat dry off their lakewater soaked bodies, beers in hand, as the summer sun lazily begins to set. They have been chatting about everything and nothing.

“So Dean,” Zack begins, hesitancy in his voice, “What have you been up to?”

Dean takes a drag of his beer. “Traveling a bit, I guess.”

Zack purses his lips. “Is that what they’re calling war these days?” Dean looks up to meet his eyes, only to see Zack staring at his leg.

 _Shit_.

Dean completely forgot about the healing bullet wound from the last hunt. It was a through and through, not big deal. Looks worse than it is, red and angry among white jagged lines and spots of old scars. With his jeans on earlier, he didn’t think about it once. With his swim trunks on now though… He’s just glad he never took his shirt off, which is hiding the worst of his battle scars.

Dean clears his throat uncomfortably, not prepared with a lie.

“He just got back,” Cas says without hesitation, “After what he went through as a Prisoner of War, I’m glad it’s just a simple leg wound that sent him home.”

Dean nods, slipping into the lie easily. Cas has his back. Making eye contact, Dean thanks him silently.

Cas is a lifesaver. With the amount of muscle Dean’s got on these guys, as well as the sheer amount of scars and an unexplained bullet wound, POW makes the most sense.

“Cas served with me. Saved my life a while back.” They make eye contact again, blushing slightly.

“Where’d you serve?” Max asks.

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Dean smirks.

Jay chuckles. “Classified, huh?” The hunter nods.

“What was your poison?” Zack asks curiously.

“Actually,” Dean shifts, snagging his gun from where it was tucked in his trunks, hidden with his shirt, “Got it right here.”

“Were you _swimming_ with that?!” Finn asks incredulously.

Dean shrugs. “I waterproofed it, it’s fine. Always have something on me.”

“I’m trying to future out how you managed to hide a gun from us while we were swimming, Dean. You were swimming around like crazy out there.”

“Cas has a blade too,” Dean adds.

Cas reaches behind him, materializing his blade. He shows the group and plays along, pretending it didn’t just materialize out of thin air. “We are good at hiding weapons, but don’t be alarmed. We’d never hurt a human with them.”

Dean snorts as Cas puts his blade away.

Just then, Dale approaches.

 _“Holy shit, is that a gun?!”_ he almost screams.

Dean throws his head back in laughter and puts it away as Zack says, “Dean just got back from war.”

Dale raises his eyebrows. “Thank you for your service,” he gives a mock salute.

Dean thanks him genuinely. It’s not often that he gets a thank you for his work, even if it’s not technically for his actual work. He’s thankful nonetheless.

 

“How’s the nerd brigade over there?” Jay asks. Dale’s party is sorta split between the nerds, the people he was with before who are near the house who studied every single day back in college, and the more I’m-not-gonna-study guys, Dean’s group, who are nearer to the lake.

“Oh, come on, Jay,” Dale sighs, “We can all get along for a day. After all, we did all go to college together.”

Zack strains his neck to look over at the group of guys a couple hundred yards away near the house.

“I haven’t seen half those people before in my life.”

Dale sighs again. “Well we all went to college at the same time, okay?”

“There’s Sam! Wait, no, I just lost sight of him. I’m gonna go say hi.”

The group mumbles mutual agreements about actually being social at this social event and they all get up to join the nerds.

 

Dean, Cas, and Jay walk side by side up to the house.

“Did you have any relatives go to Stanford?” Jay asks, “Because Sam has the same last name as you.” Dean’s mind starts whirling at a million miles an hour. “Not that I knew that until today, Winchester. You’ll like Sam. He’s kinda quiet, but I think you two will hit it off-”

 _“Dean?!”_ a voice calls loudly enough to draw the attention of some people nearby.

Dean stops in his tracks, eyes wide. He turns around slowly, only to see his brother looking at him in confusion.

Dean grimaces. “Heya, Sammy.”

“What the heck are you doing here?”

Dean steels his gaze. “I should be asking the same thing.”

“You two know each other?” Dale asks with the worst timing ever.

They ignore him.

“Dean,” Sam starts again, “What are you doing at my college reunion?”

“Because it’s his college reunion too…” Jay replies confusedly when Dean doesn’t answer.

Sam steps closer. “You never even _went_ to college…”

“Sammy,” Dean starts, then sighs, “I took some night classes while you were studying your lawyer stuff. I wanted to stay close in case you needed me…”

“What did you study?” he asks quietly.

“Psychology…”

Sam looks lost and Dean steps up closer, clapping him lovingly on the shoulder. “Couldn’t just leave my little brother alone, now could I?”  
“You guys are _brothers?!”_ Dale exclaims, still with horrible timing.

“Through thick and thin,” Dean answers more to Sam than Dale.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Before Dean can answer, Zack interrupts. “Wait, so you mean to tell me, while Sam was studying to be a lawyer, Dean was studying psychology at the same college and Sam didn’t know?!”

“I believe that is clear,” Cas confirms.  
Dean snorts in laughter, Cas blushes, and Sam smiles.

 

Jay pulls Sam, Dean, and Cas aside.

“It took me a minute to realize this,” he starts, “I knew there were a coupla hunters out there named Winchester, but I never woulda guessed they are my two best friends from college.”

Sam and Dean blink, taking in the meaning of his words.

“You’re a hunter,” Cas beats them to it.

“Yep,” he replies, popping the p, “I’m known as Jay T in the community because some people can’t figure out how to pronounce my last name, so I just shortened it.”

And that’s when it hit them. “I’ve heard of that name,” Sam says, “I thought it was just J T, like initials, but no, it’s your _name_.”

Jay chuckles.

“Well shit, man,” Dean speaks, “We gotta catch up some more, swap some stories. Come back with us to the bunker. It’s basically Hunter HQ.”

Jay smiles. “I’d like that.”

 

_Later_

 

When Jay and Dean are having drinks alone in the library of the bunker, long after Sam has gone to bed and Cas is off doing God knows what, something clicks in Jay’s mind.

“You never went to war, did you? Not the regular kind anyway.”

Dean finishes off his whiskey, glad for it’s numbing so he can have this conversation.

“No. The only wars I’ve been in are supernatural wars. Kinda was a POW though,” he pauses, “I was in hell,” he adds almost as an afterthought.

At Jay’s questioning glance, Dean takes a deep breath.

“It all started back in 1983…”

**Author's Note:**

> I want to turn this story into a series involving various Stanford kids and the Winchester’s. Please leave a comment with ideas for hunts cuz I want to try to make your ideas come to life :) It may not be exactly how you envisioned it, but I’ll try my best to make it a fun read.


End file.
